Takuto's Always There
by 4mewmew4
Summary: Takuto watches Mitsuki as she follows her dreams as Full Moon, no matter what the obstacle, and begins to fall in love with her...But will he be able to understand his feeling, and more importantly, be able to tell her? CHAPTER 14 UP!
1. Remembering

Chapter 1: Remembering

**Authors Note: **This is the re-done version of the chapter. Hope you like it!

**Disclaimer:** I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies.

There was a light spring breeze blowing through the spiral-curled brown hair of a young girl. Like any other kid would be, she was excited at how nice the weather was and had wanted more than anything to go outside.

It had taken a lot of persuasion of course. I mean, common sense wouldn't lead someone to let a girl with lung cancer outside with the sun shining high overhead. It could easily damage her fragile throat. But Mitsuki Koyama had begged and begged, and due to either kindness, or well, annoyance, her housekeeper Miss Tanaka had agreed to let her go out, as long as she returned home before her grandmother.

Her grandmother, who barely let Mitsuki go outside period, would not have liked it. She wouldn't have liked it one bit.

But even with the privilege of finally being out, Mitsuki was not a carefree girl. No, in fact she was just the opposite. Her mind was full of thoughts all the time, it never seemed to stop thinking.

(**Note: Recap of Mitsuki's childhood, Eichi, and the first few episodes for people who don't know...feel free to skip if you know already**).

Well it's not like her childhood had been an easy one. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her father go in an accident on the way to the hospital. So she came into a world without parents and was sent to an orphanage, where unfortunately she found more reason to be sad. The manager of the orphanage seemed to think it was her fault Mitsuki's parents were dead.

But thankfully, Mitsuki got moved to another orphanage, and that's where she meant-him. Eichi Sakura. From the moment she had entered the orphanage, he had been nothing but kind to her, and slowly she found herself falling in love with him, although she did not realize it.

They did everything together, practically inseparable, when one day Eichi sad something that shocked her. He said that he loved her! Then he kissed, and Mitsuki was more than confused. She didn't understand, she was only ten at the time after all, and hid herself from him.

But then he was leaving for America. Eichi told her to forget him, and when she refused he asked her to give him an answer. But still confused and shy she said nothing...and he left. Not until he was gone did Mitsuki realize that she had been love with him.

So eventually Mitsuki was picked up by her grandmother and began to live with her. She missed many days of school due to her throat cancer, but other than that lived a pretty regular life. She never gave up on her dream to become a singer, she loved singing more than anything. And if she sang, maybe she could journey to America and finally reunite with Eichi...

And that's when fate changed forever. Just when she had given up on another audition (Dr. Wakoji wouldn't let her go) two shinigami ("death spirits") had entered her life. They told her she had only one more year to live...

But this bit of news hadn't distressed her. In fact, it had only fueled her dream to become a singer in her time left in life. One of the shinigami, who had brown hair tied back in a ponytail and a hat with cat ears, had promised to turn her sixteen so she could sing in the sixteen, and she passed!

The other shinigami, who had long pink hair and bunny ears, hadn't seemed happy about this at all, but either way Mitsuki had become "Full Moon" and her roller coaster life as a singer had began.

**(Recap ends here)**

And now, as she climbed the latter to fame, Mitsuki had barely escaped being seriously hurt. It had happened like this: Mitsuki, due to the intense heat had collapsed in the middle of the road.

And guessed who saved her? Shinigami Takuto, finding her lying unconscious had given her the air that she needed to keep on living. The thought of it made Mitsuki blush.

Stopping, she shook her head. _It's not a real kiss, remember? _she told herself _Takuto even said so._ It was Takuto's job as a shinigami to make sure that she lived a year, nothing more.

Besides, her hear belonged to Eichi. She touched the precious pendent her had given her as she breathed in the air, somehow she felt closer to him when she wore it. _Eichi...I hope I can see you soon, _she thought.

Suddenly she realized she was standing completely still in the middle of a bust sidewalk, she jumped slightly, barely avoiding a teenager chatting on her cell phone who muttered "Sorry," before walking away.

"Yeah, totally. I mean, I've been looking for Full Moon's album everywhere! It's impossible to find!"

Mitsuki smiled. She was glad people liked her music. Looking up at the sky and grabbing hold of her sunhat so it wouldn't blow away, she looked at the sun nervously. She didn't know why, but she had this bad feeling she should get home soon.

So, turning around and walking quickly, she headed home.

Her worry increased as she headed home, and it didn't make her feel any better when a car that looked Mitsuki's grandmother was sitting in the driveway.

Reaching the door, she quietly slid open the door and- "MITSUKI KOYAMA!" Mitsuki looked anywhere but her grandmother as she walked in.

"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?" grandmother yelled. Mitsuki dared to look up at her face. "I went...for..a walk...I...I ...mean it's so nice out..." she stuttered. Mitsuki's grandmother's face was bright red in anger and she looked about to explode. "OUT FOR A WALK, ARE YOU SERIOUS? AFTER THAT STUNT YOU PULLED YESTERDAY IN THE HOSPITAL?

She was referring to, of course when Mitsuki had left the hospital before being officially dismissed to look for Takuto. Not like it had done much good, since the magical whistle she used to call him was missing.

When Mitsuki said nothing, her grandmother lowered her voice, but her tone was still icy. "Go to your room..." Mitsuki looked down at her feet again.. "But..."

"Go," her grandmother said firmly. Mitsuki ran away and opened the door to her room, where Takuto and Meroko were sitting looking bored. "What in the world is going on out there?" Meroko asked.

Mitsuki sighed and sat down, leaning against the door. "Grandmother...yelled at me...for taking a walk, I mean," Mitsuki murmured sadly. Meroko sighed. "Your grandmother sure is mean, Mitsuki. I don't know how you deal with it without getting mad." Mitsuki shrugged. She was still kind of upset. "I'm going to take a bath..." she said quietly, before walking away.

"You think she'll be ok?" Takuto asked. Meroko nodded. "She should be fine...Wait a minute!" she looked at Takuto suspiciously. "Why do you care?" Takuto shrugged. "Just wondering..."

Meroko raised her eyebrows. "Listen, Takuto. We're here to do our job and nothing else. I think you need to remember that."

"I know that, I'm not stupid you know!" Takuto retorted. With a "humph!" she grabbed her lasted manga and the shinigami handbook (which she consulted daily). "I'm heading to the roof", she announced.

Meanwhile Mitsuki sat in the foamy water of the tub. She was a bit shaken, by the incident, but in the end it really wasn't that big of the deal. Her grandmother got angry all the time, she was just trying to keep her safe.

And anyway, she had a job as Full Moon tomorrow. Just the thought of it made her smile. And with that she sat back, rested her eyes a bit, and relaxed.

**Authors Note: **Well there it is, the first chapter! I really hope you like it! Please, feel free to let me know anything I need to improve on through a review. But please, don't be mean. Anyway, next chapter should hopefully be a little more interesting, so be sure to read!


	2. The Letter

**Authors Note: **I just wanted to point out that some things I explain in my fan fiction may be pretty obvious to most Full Moon fans. This is because I'm writing it like someone is just hearing about Full Moon for the first time. Anyway, hope you like!

Disclaimer: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies.

Chapter 2: The Letter

_Beep! Beep_! A loud noise interrupted Mitsuki's dreams. She groaned, turning away from it and telling herself that if she could just block it out she could go back to sleep.

_Beep! Beep! _The noise was persistent. After a last failed attempt to block out the sound by holding a pillow over her ears, Mitsuki decided she must admit defeat.

Slowly she opened her eyes and glanced at her clock. "Ah! It's already that late?" She jumped up, her braids flying in her face.

She glared as Meroko. "You could've woken me up!" Meroko, completely ignoring the comment said, "You better hurry. Takuto's waiting outside."

Mitsuki looked in the mirror and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "I'm going to go change", she announced, and left for the bathroom.

When she returned, Meroko was looking extremely bored. "Why do I always have to be the one who stays home?" she complained. "You guys leave me here for _hours_ stuck with your mean old grandmother why you go off and have fun!"

Mitsuki sighed. "Meroko, you really don't have to say such mean things about my grandmother. And besides, you know why you have to stay here."

This was not the first time Meroko had complained. In order to make sure Mitsuki's grandmother didn't get suspicious, Meroko used her "Mero Mero Change!" powers to transform into Mitsuki and stay home when Mitsuki went to work.

Meroko sighed. "I know….I know. You go have fun." Mitsuki flashed her a smile. "Alright, see you later!"

Outside, Takuto was waiting, crossing his arms impatiently as he hovered slightly above the ground. "Sure took ya long enough", he commented. "Come on, let's go."

In only a few minute they could see the studio, which meant that Mitsuki needed to change into Full Moon. "Over there!" Mitsuki exclaimed, pointing to a clump of trees behind a wooden bench.

After making sure the coast was clear, Takuto snapped his fingers. Mitsuki felt the familiar feeling as her hair grew longer and turned blonde, and her whole body became that of a sixteen year old's.

When she was done transforming, Takuto and Mitsuki walked into the studio. As soon as they entered Mitsuki's manager, Miss Oshige waved to her cheerfully from just inside.

"Mitsuki! There you are!" she walked up to her. "Your photo shoot's starting in a few minutes, but first I'd like to show you something, ok?" Mitsuki nodded.

Miss Oshige led her down a hallway full of staff from around the studio, many you said, "Good Morning Full Moon-san!" or "Good luck today!"

Finally they made it to a small room whose main feature seemed to be a large wooden table. On top of the table sat a box that was overflowing with envelopes. "What's this?" Mitsuki asked.

Miss Oshige smiled. "This Mitsuki, is your fan mail." Mitsuki was taken aback. "Fan mail?" Miss Oshige nodded. "Letters have been pouring in since your CD went on sale. I thought you might want to read them."

Mitsuki nodded. "Thanks so much!" Miss Oshige laughed. "Your welcome. I've got to do something, I'll come back and get you when it's time to start."

Mitsuki sat down and stared at the letters for a moment. It was so great to know people actually liked her music enough to write to her!

Smiling, she selected a random letter and opened it. What she read however, wiped the smiled right off her face. "What?" Takuto asked. He leaned over her shoulder and looked at the letter. It read:

_Well Full Moon, you beat me at the audition._

_I don't know how, but you did._

_But what I do know is that it won't last._

_You may have made it lucky with one song, but in this world it's not that easy. _

_You really should just give now while you've still got your dignity._

_-Someone_

"Mitsuki…." Takuto said quietly. Mitsuki's face had gone white, and she looked like she was about to cry.

"Mitsuki! Are you ready? It's about time…" Miss Oshige stopped in the doorway when she was Mitsuki's face. "Mitsuki?" Mitsuki voice was hollow as she said, "I'm sorry, but I don't feel good. Could I please go home?"

Miss Oshige nodded. "Yes, of course, if you're not feeling well...But are you going to be alright? " she sounded worried.

Mitsuki stood up. "I'll….I'll be fine", she assured her. The note fell unnoticed to the ground as she unclenched her hand. She ran out of the room, trying not to cry.

"Mitsuki!" Takuto yelled. Miss Oshige of course did not hear him. No one besides Mitsuki could hear or see the shinigami unless they were in plush form (remember at this point Mitsuki hasn't told her about them yet).

He quickly flew after her. She was running at top speed towards home, tears flowing down her face, while curious spectators watched from the side. "Isn't that Full Moon?" someone whispered.

"Mitsuki!" as this point Takuto had caught up to her. "Ignore that note, whoever wrote it doesn't know what they were saying!"

Mitsuki stopped for a moment, they were almost to her house now. "Yes they do! They were saying I'm a horrible singer! And what…what if they're right…" more tears flowed down her face.

"Mitsuki! Get a hold of yourself!" Takuto exclaimed. Mitsuki ignored him, running all the way back to her house before stopping outside of the gate when she realized she was still Full Moon.

So she sat outside the gate, her face blotchy and red as she cried. Takuto soon caught up though, and leaned down to look her in the eye. "Mitsuki, please don't cry! You really don't need to!"

Mitsuki shook her head. "Yes I do! If I'm horrible singer…I'll have to stop singing. And if I stop singing…I'll never be able to see Eichi again!"

There was a silence filled only by Mitsuki's sobs. Then Takuto said, "Mitsuki? Let me ask you something. Do you love singing?" Mitsuki sniffled. "Of…Of course I do!"

"And do you really want to meet Eichi?" Takuto asked. Mitsuki nodded. "Well then, you shouldn't give up like this!" he exclaimed.

Mitsuki stopped crying. "I guess, I guess you're right Takuto." She smiled. "Thanks for cheering me up." She reached out and hugged him.

Takuto blushed a fierce red. "Well come on, Meroko is probably bored out of her mind by now." Mitsuki laughed. "You're right."

As she headed in, Takuto smiled. For some reason he loved it when that girl smiled. But how did he know that the person who wrote the note wouldn't bother Mitsuki again?

**Authors Note: **Well there was Chapter 2! I hope you liked it! It's a good thing Takuto was there to cheer her up, wasn't it? Well anyway I don't want to give any thing away about what happens next, so be sure to read Chapter 3!


	3. Preperation

**Authors Note:** Here it is, chapter 3! Arigato to the people who have already reviewed, I appreciate it. In order to update again though, I need at least **one** review! I just want to make sure people are reading this story. Anyway…

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies.

Chapter 3: Preparation

Outside, the sky was dark except for a few stray stars and a shining crescent moon. Most people's lights were already off, and only a few cars still drove by, their headlights blinding in the darkness.

In the Koyama house, Mitsuki was preparing for bed. She stared in the mirror, putting her hair into their usual nightly braids as Meroko and Takuto watched from a distance.

Mitsuki was halfway through the left braid when her cell phone rang. She wondered for a moment who would be calling her so late, but when she looked at the caller ID was not surprised to see that it was Miss Oshige. "Hello?"

"Mitsuki! Glad I caught you! I'm sorry to be calling so late…" Mitsuki, who was now having the difficulty of doing her braids with only one hand replied, "No, it's fine."

"Anyway so are you feeling better?" Mitsuki, who was sitting on a chair, leaned over so much in trying to do her braid that she fell with a loud _bang_! on the floor. "Mitsuki?" Miss Oshige called.

Luckily she had landed on some pillows that broke her fall, and she quickly recovered herself. "Miss Oshige, sorry about that, anyway, what were you saying?"

"I was asking if you felt any better." "Oh yes, thank you. I'm sorry about that, I know I missed the photo shoot", Mitsuki replied sadly.

"Don't worry about it, Mitsuki, it's fine. In fact, I called to tell you that while you were gone, they thought of a whole new plan for the shoot!" Mitsuki, who had now returned to doing her braids, was surprised. "Oh really?"

"Yes, well see since it's getting closer to summer break here in Japan, they wanted to take some more shots by the beach, this time with you relaxing. The producers are making an article entitled how "Even Celeberties Can Have Fun" and they want to put you in it. So what do you think?"

"Sounds like fun!" Mitsuki exclaimed. And it did, She didn't usually get much chance to go tho the baeach with her throat. And maybe she could even have sometime to swim, which would be great since it was so hot outsde.

Miss Oshige laughed. "Good, I'm glad you're excited. Meet me at the studio by noon, I'll drive you to the beach. Oh, and be sure to remember a swimsuit. Got all that?"

Mitsuki nodded. "Be at the studio at noon and bring a swimsuit. "Ok, Mitsuki, see you tomorrow!" And with that Miss Oshige hung up.

"What was that about?" Meroko asked. Mitsuki, her braids finally finished, turned around. "Oh that was just Miss Oshige. The photo shoot's been moved to the beach!"

Now Meroko was interested. "The beach?" she exclaimed. "How fun!" she glanced over at Takuto.

"Oh, Takuto, doesn't it sound romantic? You and me, standing on the beach, with a perfect sunset…" she stared into space, lost in her daydreams.

Takuto (who obviously didn't find it was romantic at all) commented, "But Meroko, don't you have to stay and watch the house?"

Meroko pouted. "See, I told you, you guys always hog all the fun", Takuto raised an eyebrow. "Whatever happened to "We're here to our job and nothing else?"

Meroko crossed her arms. "Humph! You're such a killjoy sometimes! I mean I just wanted to go to the beach is that _so _wrong…"

"You can come too Meroko! I'll just tell my grandmother I'm going to a friend's house for the day", Mitsuki interrupted. She was desperate to get control of the situation before another fight broke out.

Meroko smiled. "Really! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" She did a small spin in the air, her bunny ears flappig around due to excitement. "Oh, I've got to pick out the _perfect _swimsuit!"

She snapped her fingers, and immediately she was wearing a one piece yellow swimsuit. "No, no, I've never really liked yellow…"

Mitsuki giggled and then remembered somthing. "I guess I've got to pick out a suit too…"

So as Meroko floated, snapping her fingers and judging suits, a Mitsuki searched in her closet (humming Myself rather loudly), throwing out various objects (a shoe barely missed Takuto's head).

This left Takuto, floating with his legs crossed and sighing loudly. "Girls sure are strange…"

**Authors Note**: Sorry, I know it's rather short. Anyway, remember, at least **one** review before I'll update again! And once again, feel free to tell me what I need to improve on, I'd like to know:-)


	4. Word of Warning

**Authors Note**: Yay! I got 3 reviews on the last chapter! Thanks so much! Please, keep reviewing!

**Disclaimer: **I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies.

Chapter 4: Word of Warning

The sun had only just risen and a few orange-colored beams were shining through Mitsuki's bedroom when she woke up. Today, she told herself, she was not going to be late.

Yawning, she looked over at Takuto and Meroko, who were still sleeping soundly. It was rare that they were this peaceful, and Mitsuki smiled. _There's no reason I can't let them sleep a little longer…_

She quietly walked over to the window and opened it, feeling the refreshing breeze of the crisp morning air. She stared at the beauty of the waking world for a moment, and then decided to sing to pass the time.

So quietly, in a voice barely above a whisper (so not to wake Takuto and Meroko), she sung the first verse of Myself.

Doushite doushite suki nan darou

Konna ni namida afureteru

Ano koro ha ushinau mono ga oosukite nani mo utaenakatta

Sukoshi hanareta basho soko ga watashi no ibasho datta

She paused, taking a deep breath. As she continued, her voice grew louder, and soon she was singing as much as her twelve-year old throat could handle

Kimi no hitomi no oku ni ano hi samishisa wo mitsuketa

Futari niteru no kana?

Kitsukeba itsu mo tonari ni ite kureta

Suddenly she had a feeling she was being watched. Turning around, she saw Takuto staring at her. Mitsuki clamped her hand over her mouth. "Takuto! I'm sorry, did I wake you up?"

Takuto shook his head. Actually, she had, but it wasn't a bad thing to wake up to. "Please, don't stop because of me", he said.

A little more nervously, Mitsuki continued where she had let off.

Doushite konna ni suki nan darou

Kimi no koe kanshii hodo hibiiteru yo

Ima made nani ga sasae datta ka

Tooku hanarete wakatta yo

With this she stopped, taking a deep breath. It had hurt her throat a bit, but she loved that song, so she didn't mind.

Takuto kept looking at her for a moment. "You know Mitsuki, you really do have a beautiful voice." Mitsuki smiled. "T…Thank you, Takuto." And for a moment the two just stood there, looking at each other.

After a moment, Meroko woke up. Yawning loudly, she looked over at the two. "What's going one? Did I miss something?" She asked, sounding grouchy (she hated being left out.)

Takuto, who seemed to be shaken back to reality said, "Oh…nothing Meroko. Nothing at all."

Later

"We're here!'" Miss Oshige announced. Everyone got out of the car, and Meroko quickly changed from a plush to a shingami. "Finally, I can have some fun!" she exclaimed.

Takuto sighed loudly. "Let's just hope you don't ruin it for everyone else…." Meroko turned red in anger. "Takuto!" she yelled. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly was holding a large pink blow dryer with a picture of her in bunny form on it.

"W…what are you going to do with that?" Takuto asked, looking a little freaked out. Meroko twirled it around a little, casually saying, "Oh, I don't know…"

Mitsuki smiled at their antics as Miss Oshige led her to the changing area.

They soon arrived there, a beautiful spot right by the ocean. Cameras were sat up everywhere, Mitsuki thought the cords stretching between them took a little of the beauty away from the beach. Never the less, it was still pretty.

"Nice spot, isn't it?" Anyway, if you could change into your swimsuit…" she pointed towards a tent with a sign on it that said "Full Moon".

Mitsuki nodded and walked over to the tent. Inside, there was only a chair and a small mirror attached to a table. Takuto and Meroko left to give her some privacy, and Mitsuki got her swim suit out of her bag.

She reappeared moments later, looking stunning. She wore a beautiful two piece swimsuit which was a delicate shade of light blue, the top stopping after her belly button. It contrasted perfectly with her blonde hair that was put into a ponytail high up on her head.

Takuto's eyes widened. "Whoa…" Meroko meanwhile disappeared for a second, returning in her own swimsuit, also a two piece a lot like Mitsuki's. It was a pretty shade of pink that matched her hair, and a while velvet ribbon was tied in a bow on each strap.

"Takuto…" she said, waving her hands in front of his face, trying to distract his attention from Mitsuki and onto her.

"Mitsuki!" Miss Oshige called. "Over here!" she waved from over near the cameras. Mitsuki nodded. "Coming!" she yelled back. She smiled at Takuto and Meroko. "Ready?"

They nodded, following Mitsuki. And with that the photo shoot began. It took a while, the camera women kept asking Mitsuki to move her head, or move her arm, or something, and Meroko was starting to get bored.

"Awww...This is boring…." She muttered. Takuto crossed his arms. "I thought you said that we "hogged all the fun"?" Meroko sighed. "I know…but…"

It was eventually decided that Meroko could go off and swim, and Takuto and Mitsuki would meet her when it was time for break.

So, Meroko sat on an inflatable swim float, relaxing as she browsed through the death spirit handbook.

Suddenly she saw something that nearly made her fall off the float. Written in the familiar letters that meant it would quicken Mitsuki's death was the word… "Water".

**Authors Note**: I ended on a cliffhanger this time! Anyway, did you recognize the giant hair dryer:-)

Don't forget, I need at least** one** review to update again!

Also, special thanks to seeklyrics(dot)com where I got the lyrics for Myself (since I don't have them memorized yet). If I was not supposed to put these up, please let me know, and I can take them down (though you can't really contact me except through a review…sorry….)

**Be sure to read Chapter 5!**


	5. Deadly Waves

**Authors Note**: Sorry for not updating in so long! Anyway, I have big news. I have a n anime website: www. Freewebs .com / findyourwings – anime / (without spaces), or you could just follow the actual link on my profile. Anyway, it's a very new site and needs tons of editing and work, but please leave a comment and rating anyway! Your advice would be helpful as my site slowly grows. I have the most done on my Full Moon Wo Sagashite pages, but even that's still not a lot….anyway please check it out!

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was created by Arina Tanemura.

Chapter 5: Deadly waves

Thoughts were spinning through Meroko's head so fast they barely had time to register before the next one hit her. _Where's Takuto? I've got to find them! What if I'm too late…_

She stopped dead in her tracks and pushed the thought away. No….she couldn't think that. She didn't have just Mitsuki to worry about after all. As a shingami, she had to retrieve Mitsuki's soul at the appointed time. Takuto, a newcomer, was already not showing much promise as a shinigami, and she had to help him…

So in a moment she was off, her swimsuit exchanged for her regular outfit and the float gone. She had to find them, she just had to.

Meanwhile, Mitsuki's photo shoot was finally reaching a break. Mitsuki was more than relieved, she wasn't sure she could've held that last pose any longer.

The camera women noticed her look of exhaustion and smiled at her. "Thanks, Full Moon, you were great." She turned to all the workers. "Ok, everybody, let's have lunch and meet back here in an hour!"

Mitsuki stretched her arms out a bit and walked over to Takuto. "Ready?" she asked cheerfully. Takuto slightly smiled_. She looks so pretty when she's happy… _he thought. _But of course, I can never tell her that._

"Takuto?" Mitsuki asked again. Takuto, shaken out of his thoughts, jumped slightly. "Yeah, shorty, let's go. Meroko's got to be around here somewhere." Mitsuki nodded. "Right!"

Over in the opposite direction, Meroko flew just below the clouds, scanning the ground desperately for Takuto and Mitsuki. _This is all my fault, I've got the shinigami handbook…I never should've left them…._

She shook her head. _Get a hold of yourself, Meroko! Takuto's with her, she'll be fine… _she told herself.

Twenty five minutes had passed and Mitsuki was starting to get tired. "Oh, where could Meroko be?" she asked to no one in particular. She looked at the ocean longingly. "Break's going to be over soon…."

Takuto didn't exactly know why, but he wanted to see her smile again. "You go back and swim. I can keep looking for Meroko." There it was, Mitsuki's smile. "Really, Takuto? Thanks so much!" she exclaimed.

Takuto watched her skip away for a moment, proud of himself. But why did he have this chilling feeling he shouldn't have left her alone? Pushing it way and telling himself it must be nothing, he kept on looking.

Mitsuki skipped to a spot right by the photo shoot. Taking off her sandals, she felt the sand through her toes, totally at ease. It brought back a memory…

_Flashback_

_A younger Mitsuki, about the age of ten, leaned down in the sand, clutching a moon-shaped pendant. Staring at the ground as the waves pounded against the shore, she wrote _**Eichi**_ in the sand._

_The tide came and erased the words. The younger Mitsuki paused, and then wrote _**I like you **_in the sand. The tide came and erased those words._

_End flashback_

Mitsuki knew the memory well. Shorty after that she realized she was in love with Eichi.

Why had she been able to admit to the sand what she hadn't been able to say to Eichi? She wondered. Staring down at the sand, just like the day two years she slowly raised her finger and wrote **Eichi I'll find you **in the sand.

And just like the first time the tide came and swept the words away. She paused a moment and wrote **and then I can tell you how I feel.** The tide swept these words away too.

Sitting not far behind her a girl with purple hair wearing dark sunglasses scowled. "That Full Moon is so carefree! Look at her, she's writing in the sand for goodness sake!"

She punched the sand, causing a cute pink pig sitting nearby to squeal loudly. The girl glared at it. "Oh, be quiet!" she looked back at Full Moon. "How can I, Madoka, be losing to her? I thought that note would scare her out of the singing business, she has such low self-confidence…"

She looked down at the sand, and her voice was hollow as she said, "It's not fair. It's been….so hard for me. I've had to work hard all my life to get where I am today…."

Mitsuki stood up and removed her ponytail holder, shaking out her hair. Taking a deep breath she placed her hands in the position for a perfect dive and gracefully entered the water (Madoka muttered "Show off!" from her spot in the sand).

Madoka watched, sill scowling at, the surface of the water. But a minute passed and Full Moon hadn't resurfaced. Madoka kept staring, her heart starting to beat faster and faster. Another two minutes passed. _Can anyone last that long underwater? _She wondered.

When another minute passed, Madoka knew she had to tell someone. She couldn't just stand here! The staff members for Full Moon's photo shoot were starting to set up again, and grabbing her pig, Gutchan, she ran over to them. "Hey! Hey!" she yelled. "Full Moon- I think she's drowning!

Under the water, Mitsuki was desperately trying to swim above surface. Her ankle was caught on some sort of reed, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't seem to break free.

With a sinking feeling she knew she was running out of air, and fast. Her head was starting to spin, and she was exausting from the struggle. _Takuto… _she thought desperatley, before drifting off into an unconscious sleep. _Can you save me..._

**Authors Note:** I ended on a cliffhanger again! Anyway, please review and let me know what you think!


	6. Takuto's Brave Act

**Authors Note**: Here it is, chapter 6! I'm getting to a part that I'm excited to put up, I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies.

**Chapter 6: Takuto's Brave Act**

The news spread like wildfire through the small group of staff. Full Moon was drowning! When it reached the ears of Miss Oshige, she went ballistic.

"What?" she yelled at the top of her lungs in the ear of a staff member. "She's drowning?" Rubbing his ears and hoping her could still hear he answered, "We're doing the best we can Oshige-san, please just wait." Miss Oshige sent him an icy look and turned around to interrogate another staff member.

"You!" she exclaimed, walking over to a camerawoman standing near the water. "What are _you _doing to save Full Moon?" the woman sighed. "Until we know her exact location, there's really nothing. Madoka-san only knew a general idea…."

"Well, isn't there a lifeguard or something?" Oshige demanded. The camerawomen shook her head. "We booked this beach private for today, the lifeguard isn't on duty…."

Miss Oshige was furious now. "So no one's going to do anything, that's it. She's just going to drown, and everyone's going to just sit here and watch! I would do it myself but-"

"I'll do it." The voice wasn't one Oshige recognized and she was caught off guard. Turning around, she found herself looking at boy with brown hair tied back in a ponytail. His eyes were that of a striking blue.

"Who are you?" Oshige asked suspiciously. "My name is Takuto. Takuto Kira. I'm…a…uh friend of Full Moon's." he replied. Oshige looked at the boy, seeming to decide whether to trust him or not. "I vaguely remember her talking about somebody names Takuto…." She paused. "But how did you get unto a private set?"

Takuto's eyes widened. Yikes! How did her got into a private photo shoot? He didn't have any clue what to use for an excuse. Instead he said, "Listen! Is that really important right now? Because if you're not going to save Mitsuki, I will!"

Miss Oshige looked shocked. "You, you know her real name…." she looked around. None of the staff members seemed to have heard. "Maybe you do know her….Anyway, will you really try to save her?" Takuto nodded. He was confident he would be fine, after all he was a shinigami and couldn't die.

"Well it that case", Oshige said with a smile. "Please try your hardest. She's not your regular singer. She sings with such a passion, the kind I've never seen before..." Takuto nodded. "Don't worry, she'll be fine."

He took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the shore and slipped off his shoes. He'd leave his normal clothes on, he didn't have time to change into a swimsuit, for one he didn't have one and also he'd have to go to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Mitsuki would be in danger.

He closed his eyes-and dived. The water swirled around him, and the light looked strange underneath it. He squinted, searching for Mitsuki. There!

Her ankle was caught on something, some sort of reed. Obviously she had tried to break free but it had held her down an eventually she had run out of air.

Takuto wasn't sure what to do for a moment. If he changed her back to Mitsuki her ankle might be small enough to slip out, but that would cause awkward questions when they got back to shore.

_Well, I've got to do something. _Pushing against the water that surrounded him, he forced his way over to Mitsuki. Now! He pulled with all his might on the loose part of the reed, making sure not to hurt her ankle in the process.

It was a struggle, but eventually he loosened it just enough so he could pull her free. Staring down on her unconscious face, he felt a swirl of emotions. Why did he feel like this? He was a shinigami, here to do his job…. He shouldn't be falling in love with her….

He shook his head. He wasn't in love with her! Before he had realized it, they were out of the water and on the shore. Miss Oshige along with the staff was crowding around them. "Call an ambulance!" someone yelled. The loud alarm of the ambulance blared through the peaceful sky.

Paramedics ran out and checked her pulse. "How is she?" said another voice, Takuto didn't know whom, he wasn't paying attention. "She's alive, but barely", another voice said grimly. "We'll have to take her to the hospital, probably overnight…"

Wait, someone was taking Mitsuki away. Takuto was shaken back to reality. Turning on a paramedic he yelled, "Where are you taking Mitsuki?" Placing her body on a stretcher they answered, "To the hospital. She's lucky you saved her life, but she still needs medical care. And quick."

"Let me come with her!" Takuto demanded. The paramedic looked at him closely for a moment. "I can only let you come if you're a family member or close friend."

"I'm a close friend", Takuto said firmly. The paramedic sighed. "Fine, we're in a hurry anyway. Get in." Takuto nodded and jumped into the ambulance, leaning down by Mitsuki as paramedics flocked over her.

Miss Oshige came too and stood in the corner, her face filled with fear. And with that, the ambulance took off through the streets.

Takuto wouldn't take his eyes of Mitsuki, he wasn't about to let anything happen to her. That's when Meroko entered. Still in shinigami form, she looked at Mitsuki and her eyes widened. "Takuto! What happened? I saw a keyword in the death spirit handbook, and then I was trying to find you and-"

Takuto glared at her. "You knew this was going to happen?" his voice was quiet, but there was a hint of anger behind it. Meroko didn't quite know what to say. "I…I tried to find you guys, really, I did…." But Takuto didn't seem to have heard. "Just go. You've caused enough trouble."

"But Takuto, I'm sorry, please, listen to me! I tried so hard to find you, I tried for hours!" Meroko insisted. "Please! Please!" But once again, it was like the words had never left her lips. "Did you hear me, just go!" Takuto yelled. Meroko eyes began to water. Why was Takuto being like this?

She flew out of the ambulance, as a single tear fell from her eye. She knew why. She had always known, from the very first day they met Mitsuki. Takuto… was in love with Mitsuki.

The tears really started to come now, flowing down her face like a silent rain. He really did love her, didn't he? She attempted a weak smile. It was ok, as long as Takuto was happy. Even if he didn't love her back, as long as he was happy…

And now she could only hope that Mitsuki was ok...

**Authors Note**: Those last few paragraphs seemed so sad to me! Sorry for making Takuto so mean, don't worry, he's just upset about Mitsuki. Anyway, be sure to read chapter 7!


	7. The Feelings of A Shinigami

**Authors Note:** _**IMPORTANT: **_**Takuto's Always There is more than likely going to be extended. I replied to review saying the end was near and but I decide to put in some ideas I was originally going to put in a sequel of this story. Let me know in a review if you like this idea, I could just go ahead and make the sequel with the new plot ideas….let me know and I will take what you say into consideration.**

**About this chapter**: Things are getting a bit depressing! Don't worry though, in the end it will work out.

**Disclaimer: **I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was created by Arina Tanemura.

**Chapter 7: The Feeling Of a Shinigami**

The blare of the alarm began to fade away into silence as the ambulance stopped in front of the hospital. Takuto was shaken back to reality, he had been in an almost trance as he stared at Mitsuki.

The paramedics were beginnning to take her away, and Takuto immediately jumped in action.

"I'm going with her!" he demanded, standing in front of them. But it seemed they were used to dealing with difficult people, as they expertly manuvered around him as if he wasn't here.

Takuto jumped in front of them again. "Wait please! Where are you taking her?" One of the paramedics sighed, looking severly annoyed. "Listen kid, we're taking her to the emergency room. She's in a lot of danger right now, and we need to put her of life support."

A chill went down Takuto's back as he heard these words. Life support...so it was that serious, huh? "Why can't I come with you?" he asked desperately.

The man shook his head. "I'm sorry, no one but members of the staff are allowed in. It's not my rule, it's the hospital's. Now maybe later..."

Takuto shook his head. "Forget it!" he stomped away. If they wouldn't let him come in as a human, than he'd come in as a human. With a snap of his fingers, he was floating again, off in the direction where they'd left.

As he flew, he tried to get a mental grasp of the situation. Mitsuki was in some serious danger, he knew that. And it couldn't be nothing if it had been a keyword in the handbook. But what could he do? He was majorly low on power, turning human and the underwater rescue had tapped him out of energy, so there was nothing he could do to help.

He shook his head. He'd use all of power to save Mitsuki, no matter what. He stopped dead in his tracks. Why did he care so much? He had only know Mitsuki for a few months, he was a shinigami, she was a human. So why did he feel this way?

But now wasn't that time. Shaking off the thought, he kept searching. She must be somwhere around here...

Over by the main desk, Miss Oshige was having a dilemna. The hospital wanted to know a way to contact Mitsuki's parents, for the obvious reasons. They wanted to make sure they were informerd and to see if thier insurance would cover the charges.

The problem was that Oshige had never met Full Moon's parents in her life, she didn't know thier number or anything. Also, Mitsuki had asked that her idenity be kept a secret, and Oshige respected that. Not that she didn't turst a hospital, bu somehow, maybe, it might slip...

So Oshige just told them that Mitsuki's parents weren't avaible and that she'd acceapt the charges. It was a bold move, hospital bills could get pricy, but it was the only thing she could think of.

Meanwhile, Takuto had finally found where they were keeping Mitsuki. Flying through the door, he flew up to the top corner where he had a good view of the whole room.

"Well boss, what to we do?" a nurse asked urgently. A doctor looked at Mitsuki grimly. "Not much we can do. Set her up on life support, and set up that monitor over there. She's in the hands of God now."

The nurses nodded, running around and setting up things left and right.

Takuto was really starting to get worried now. "Dang!" he yelled, punching the wall. It hurt a little, but he ignored it. "Why couldn't I have been quicker! This is-all-my-fault!" He began punching the wall in between each word.

Meroko watched, concealed behind a curtain on the other side of the room. She had never seen Takuto this angry before... She stared at the floor. She wanted to go over there, to try to say something to make him feel better, but really, what could she say? Takuto blamed it somewhat on her, and he was kind of right. If only she had check the book maybe 30 minutes earlier...

As the two shinigami stood there, feeling extremly guilty and overwhelmed, the doctors began to clear out. Mitsuki was on life support now, there was nothing else they could do. Just like the doctor had said, she was in the hands of God...

Takuto flew down and pulled up a chair, sitting directly by Mitsuki's bed. Her eyes, usually bright and full of happiness, were closed, and her her usually upturned smile seemed to be stuck in a permanent frown.

_Mitsuki, I want you to wake up...Please, I want to see you smile... _Takuto thought. He didn't take his eyes off her, prehaps he thought that if he stared at her long enough, she'd wake up.

Meroko felt like crying now, the way Takuto was looking down at Mitsuki practically broke her heart. She knew now that Takuto would never care for her like that, the way he did for Mitsuki. A single tear ran down her cheek. But that was ok. Takuto and her good still be...friends. Yes, friends.

Figuring that it was time to reveal herself, she flew out quieltly and floated beside Takuto. Trying not to cry she managed to stutter, "H...H..Hello...T...Takuto." she waited breathlessly for his reaction.

For a moment it seemed that he ignored her, but than he grunted out a "Hi."

More tears began to fall from Meroko's eyes. "What do you mean hi? You yell at me, send me away, and then when I come back all you can say is _hi_? I thought I was your partner, I thought I meant something to you!" she was shouting now. "BAKA! BAKA! BAKA!" she couldn't stop the tears; they fall like a silent rain.

"Meroko..." Takuto looked at her, as if noticing her for the first time in a long while. Meroko shook her head. "Forget it! You stay here with Mitsuki, and I'll leave the two of you alone in peace! You're obviously in love with her!" With that she flew off, out through the window and away into the sky.

"Meroko!" Takuto yelled. "Meroko!" but she was already gone.

**Authors Note:**

First off, for those who may not know, baka means "idiot","stupid", etc. in Japanese :)

A lot of things to wonder about here.

First off: Will Mitsuki wake up?

Second: Will Takuto apologize to Meroko, and if he does, will she accept it?

**And Finally: Will Takuto finally realize his true feeling for Mitsuki?**


	8. Smile

**Authors Note**: _**I decided to keep everything in one story**_, sorry for those who wanted it in a sequel. _**My reason is this**_: When I see a story that looks good but figure out it's a sequel, I feel kind of overwhelmed that I have to read whole story before I can read it. I feel less overwhelmed if it's just a long story. I don't want any new reader to feel overwhelmed, so I just continued it. _**Hope you understand:-)**_

**About the chapter**: After this, we get a break from all the sadness! Yippee!

Oh and there's a flashback in this chapter. I love flashbacks. :-)

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was created by Arina Tanemura.

**Chapter 8: Smile**

Rain poured down from a relentless sky as Meroko flew away from the hospital, not stopping to look where she was going. Stupid Takuto. Why didn't he understand? Eventually she stopped, sitting under the overhanging of a building as her wet hair clung to her face.

Up above, lightning flashed, lighting up the dull gray of the rain clouds. Meroko looked up at them in wonder. It always seemed to rain whenever she was sad.

She clenched her right hand into a fist. It didn't matter how much of a jerk Takuto was being. He'd done it before, right? She smiled. He was so dense. Either way though, she was going to make sure Mitsuki was ok. Besides that she cared about her, it was her job. She had a right to be there.

Takuto meanwhile, still sat by Mitsuki's side. He wanted to go after Meroko, but no way would he leave Mitsuki right now. Somehow he felt like she needed him more at the moment

At that moment a nurse and the doctor walked in. They stared at the screens, the screens that told them if Mitsuki was alive, the screens Takuto wished he could understand.

"Any change?" the nurse asked grimly. The doctor shook his head. "No. At this point it looks like it may be getting worse." The nurse gasped. "So there's really nothing we can do? What will the public do when they find out?"

"I don't know. We'll have to deal with that when the time comes." The doctor replied. And with that they left.

Takuto sighed. So it was getting worse, huh? It's not like just looking at her was going to wake her up anyway. He just wished that he could do something for her. But the only thing he was good at was….

_Singing_. How could he forget?

_Flashback_

"_You're finally back to normal," Takuto said to a happy Mitsuki._

"_You're best with a smile on your face."_

_Mitsuki stared at him. "Takuto…"_

_The sun began to rise on the horizon. "It's beautiful…" Mitsuki murmured. "Yeah." Takuto was looking at it too._

_They started talking again, and suddenly out of nowhere, Mitsuki started hugging Takuto! _

"_Baka…Don't just hug me for no reason at all!" Takuto said, embarrassed. _

_But Mitsuki ignore him. "I like your singing Takuto." _

"_So you did hear me…" he muttered. _

_Mitsuki looked him in the eye. "That's cause…you're a gentle person… Someone I can talk to…" She smiled._

_End of Flashback_

Singing was the only thing he could think to do. She loved singing, it meant the world to her…and maybe, just maybe, she'd hear it, if he sang.

So after pausing a moment to get the tempo in his head, he started to sing Smile. It just seemed…fitting.

_Anata no kawari ni sora naite ita nara  
_**(if the sky was crying for you)**

Watashi wa umi ni natte dakishimeru kara  
**(I'll turn into a sea and embrace it)**

_Arashi ni nomikomarete chizu nakushita to shite mo _

**(even if we're swallowed by the storm and lose our map)**_  
_

_Anata no senaka ga ima no watashi no michishirube yo  
_**(your back is the signpost for me now)**_  
_

_Tsuki to taiyou mitai hanarete ite mo  
_**(like the moon and sun, even when near or far)**

_Chikazuite ite mo hikari wo uketomeru  
_**(please be close enough to capture my light)**

_Kyori de ite ne_

**(watch me always, watch me forever whenever**_ ) _

Mitsuki's eyes remained closed. Why wouldn't she wake up?

_Smile smile  
_

Itsumo mite ite zutto mite ite donna toki mo  
**(want to believe, want to feel it foreve)**

_Smile smile  
_

_Shinjite itai kanjite itai itsumade mo_

**(being able to understand happy mornings and sad nights)**_  
_

_Smile smile  
_

Ureshii asa mo kanashii yoru mo wakachi aeru  
**(I won't forget to smile)**

_Egao wasurenai yo  
_**(I cannot live without you forever)**

_I cannot live without you forever_

Had Mitsuki's eyes opened a little? No he must have imagined it.

N to s jishaku mitai itsuka kizukeba  
**(N and S, like magnets, when we notice someday)**

_Hikare ai atarimae no you na sonzai  
_**(we'll be pulled together as if that was ordinary)**

_Tomaranai dare mo shiranai himitsu no tokei no you  
_**(like that secret, unstoping clock that no one knows)**

_Onnaji mojiban no ue futari susunde yuku yo  
_**(the two continues to move on the same face)**_  
_

_Se no takai anata no hari watashi yume miru  
_**(I dream about your long hand)**

_Chiisana hari ga nandomo kasanatte  
_**(the small hand overlaps to deepen the love)**

_Ai wo kizamu_

**(watch me always, watch me forever whenever)**

_Smile smile  
_

Itsumo mite ite zutto mite ite donna toki mo  
**(want to believe, want to feel it forever)**

_Smile smile  
_

_Shinjite itai kanjite itai itsumade mo  
_**(being able to understand happy mornings and sad nights)**

_**Smile smile  
**_

**_Ureshii asa mo kanashii yoru mo wakachi aeru  
_(I won't forget to smile)**

**_Egao wasurenai yo  
_(I cannot live without you forever)**

_**I cannot live without you forever**_

Takuto's eyes widened. That voice, it hadn't been his. He looked down at Mitsuki. She was awake! He gasped.

Mitsuki's voice was strained, and she looked weak, but she still managed to smile. "Please, don't stop because of me…" she murmured.

Takuto grinned, remembering that morning when he had said the exact same thing. He nodded at her, and together they sang the chorus one more time.

_Smile smile  
_

_Itsumo mite ite zutto mite ite donna toki mo  
_**(want to believe, want to feel it forever)**

_Smile smile  
_

_Shinjite itai kanjite itai itsumade mo_

**want to believe, want to feel it forever**_  
_

**_Smile smile  
_**

**_Ureshii asa mo kanashii yoru mo wakachi aeru  
_(being able to understand happy mornings and sad nights)**

_**Egao wasurenai yo**_

**(I cannot live without you forever)**_  
_

_**I cannot live without you forever**_

Authors Note: Thanks to (where I got the Japanese lyrics) and to (to where I got the translation). Thanks to all the reviewers and please keep reading, the story isn't over yet!


	9. Recovery

Authors Note: **You can finally private message me! **Yep. I finally un-blocked it. So if you have any questions about my stories or would just like to chat about anime related things, feel free! Also, I have an account on **TheOtaku(dot)com** where I'm putting up some fan art and such (though let me warn you, I'm not very good). And if you have an account there, you can message me! My account: **MerokoYui4**

**Disclaimer: I have no rights/do not own Full Moon (w)o Sagashite the manga, anime or dub. They are all owned by various companies, though the manga was created by Arina Tanemura. **

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 9: Recovery**

It was nurse Kura's first day on the job. She was assigned those trivial things, like delivering meals and taking foot x-rays. Bored and half-asleep she was sharply brought from her thoughts by a beautiful song. Why, that was…

She peeked in the nearest room and was shocked at what she saw. Full Moon was awake! And at that moment, she became famous within the hospital (and with the reporters) for being the first to hear Full Moon sing after the accident.

"She wasn't supposed to live…" the doctors said to eager reporters. "We didn't think she'd make it even one more day…"

The reporters, desperately trying to fight their way into the door, wanted to know when Full Moon would be able to perform again. The doctors replied, "We have no idea, it all depends on how strained her vocal chords are…

Meanwhile, Mitsuki watched the chaos from her hospital room. Takuto was earning some well deserved rest, and the only noise in the room came from the TV, where she had the news playing.

"Mitsuki!" said a voice from behind her. Mitsuki turned to see Miss Oshige balancing a large cardboard box as she asked, "How are you feeling?"

Mitsuki smiled. "I'm ok," she stared out the window again. "Everyone sure seems worried about me…" Oshige placed the box on the bed, wiping her brow. "You bet they are! You should see all the flowers people sent!"

She sat in the chair where Takuto had been sitting earlier (he was sleeping in a different chair). "You know, I saw the letter you dropped the other day." Oshige continued. Mitsuki looked at the ceiling. "Oh…."

"And I was wondering….did you read any of the other letters?"

Mitsuki thought for a moment. "Now that I think about it….I guess I didn't." Miss Oshige sighed. "Well then, I can see why you were so upset. I really think you should really read some of the others, and you might especially be interested in this one." She placed a tan envelope on top of the box. "It's one of the new ones." She left the room.

Mitsuki stared at the box a moment, unsure whether she should read them or not. Deciding nothing could be worse than the other letter; she reached in and grabbed a letter at random from the side of the box. It read:

_Full Moon,_

"_Myself" is such a great song! I bought the album right away, and I listen to it daily. Please, keep singing! I hope you do a concert sometime soon and I can't wait for your next song!_

_-Maron_

Mitsuki smiled and carefully placed the letter on the small side table by her bed. She then opened another letter, and then another. Each one mad her smile even more and soon the side table was piled high with letters.

Her gaze fell upon the brown envelope that Miss Oshige said might interest her. Opening it she read:

_Full Moon,_

_Well I guess I should apologize. I'm the one who wrote the note from earlier, you know the one that said 'give up now' and all that stuff. Well I decided that if I'm going to beat you, I'm going to do it fair and square. Get better soon so we can compete again!_

_-Madoka_

On the bottom of the letter was a pig paw print, by which Madoka had written "Gutchan."

"Mitsuki?" asked a quiet voice. Mitsuki laid the letter down and looked up. It was Meroko! "Hi Meroko!" she greeted her with her usual smile.

Meroko smiled weakly back. "Hi Mitsuki. I'm sorry….for disappearing." She looked at her feet.

Mitsuki shook her head. "It's ok, I mean I'm alright aren't I? Plus, Takuto was there. It all turned out ok."

"But, the word was in the handbook, and if I had just checked it earlier…." Meroko insisted. "It's fine." Mitsuki said firmly. Meroko looked over at Takuto. "Speaking of Takuto…is he mad at me?"

Mitsuki tilted her head in a confused sort of way. "Mad at you? I don't think so. Why would he?" Meroko quickly looked away from him. "Oh, no reason."

She sat down on the bed and in a minute was her old cheery herself again. Mitsuki was glad, she was beginning to get worried.

But after a while Takuto woke up, and the awkwardness returned. Meroko stood up and looked as if she was about to leave.

But Takuto stood in front of her and held out his hand to stop her. "Wait, Meroko, don't go…." Meroko smiled weakly. "Oh, but I should, I never should have said what I did to you…."

Takuto shook his head. "No, it's fine, really." Meroko's eyes shone. "Really?" Takuto nodded. "Really!" Meroko started grinning and started hugging Takuto. "Oh Takuto….I love you!" she exclaimed.

Takuto grinned sheepishly and looked at the ceiling. "I've heard..."

Mitsuki meanwhile, had no idea what was going on. But she smiled anyway.

**Meanwhile**

A blonde haired shinigami, hidden in the shadows of a tree watched the scene through the window with interest. "Izzzuuummmmii-kun…." muttered a ghost in an annoying voice. "What are you doing?"

Izumi, seeming annoyed but not reacting replied, "Well, Jonathon, it's about time we paid Me-chan a visit…." Jonathon, not replying, continued to fly around Izumi's hat (which conveniently fit around his dog ears) in a continuous circle.

**Authors Note: **Don't you just love my cliffhangers (ha ha). Anyway, please review. How do you feel that Izumi's in the story now? Let me know!


	10. Izumi

Authors Note: Sorry I haven't updated is so long (again). Anyway, I like this chapter, maybe because Izumi is the star (LOL):-) Hope you like it to!!! This chapter officially starts "Part B" of the story. I tried a little bit of a different writing style in this chapter, hope you like it (if you even notice it all :-) )

Disclaimer: Disclaimer: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was written by Arina Tanemura.

Chapter 10: Izumi

A single shaft of moonlight shone in through an open window on a peaceful, sleeping face.

The face was that of our main character, Mitsuki's. She was still at the hospital of course, I mean the doctors wouldn't be too keen to release _you _if _you _had barely escaped a life and death situation.

Takuto sat in a chair in her bed, sleeping and snoring quite loudly. His face showed a look of relief and happiness. Meroko was the only one awake, staring blankly at the wall, her expression unreadable.

And yet, all of them were completely oblivious to the fact that they were being watched…

Izumi quietly entered the room, pleased that the darkness of the room covered his entrance. He was keen not to be noticed. Now he had the element of complete surprise.

But Jonathon almost ruined it all. He was still flying around Izumi's head, and looked as if he was going to utter a sound (probably the stupid chant of "IIIzzzummmmiiiiiii-kun" he usually does) when Izumi sent him an icy glare that quickly made him reconsider.

Meroko was still staring blankly at the wall, moving only to blink. _What could she be looking at? _Izumi wondered. After another moment he realized his presence was not going to be discovered, and decided to reveal himself.

Stepping out of the shadows, he walked up and said, "How nice to see you again Me-chan…" in a loud voice.

_Bang! _It was like a bomb had been set off in the quiet room. Immediately everyone burst into action. Meroko is complete shock, fell right out of her chair, Takuto woke up with a start and narrowed his eyes suspiciously, Mitsuki groaned loudly in her sleep, and Jonathon, glad he was free to talk again, started up his annoying chant.

"Izumi-kun!" Meroko exclaimed, sitting back up in the chair. Izumi looked casually around the room, as if his visit had been expected. "Surprised to see me?" he asked.

_Well, yeah! _Meroko shouted inside her head. She hadn't exactly woken up this morning expecting to see her old shinigami partner later that day. But she remained silent.

"What do YOU want?" Takuto yelled. Izumi turned to him with a sigh, as if talking to him was some sort of chore. "Hello, Ta-kun. Rather angry today, aren't we?"

"Call me by name!" Takuto replied. "Stupid nicknames may be fine for Meroko, but not for me!" Meroko sent Takuto what-did-you-say-that-for look, but he ignored it. Meanwhile, Izumi seemed unfazed. "I do believe I did call you by your name, Ta-kun." He smirked.

Oh, Takuto was angry now. Standing up, he balled his right hand into a fist and started to come towards Izumi. "I'll wipe that smirk right off your face!" he yelled. Some may think that he was overreacting, but Takuto had been woken up, and it would be an understatement to say that he was cranky.

But Izumi was quicker. He grabbed Takuto's arm in mid-punch and pushed him back, all with little effort. "Please, don't waste my time," he commented. Takuto stepped, back, breathing heavily with a look of complete disgust on his face.

Izumi turned back to Meroko who had been watching the scene with worry. After all, she didn't want Takuto to get hurt (Izumi however, was good at getting out of trouble). "So Me-chan, how many times have you confessed your love to Ta-kun now? Sixty? Seventy?"

"Fifty-nine (I think this is right….we have to count the one from earlier)." Meroko replied icily. Izumi raised his eyebrows. "Really? I was sure it would be more." Meroko ignored him, she hoped that if she didn't talk to him he's just go away.

But it wasn't that easy to get rid of Izumi Lio (or Rio, whichever you prefer). "If I remember correctly," he continued, "You confessed your love for _me_ _**82**_times (according to the manga). Unless you've forgotten?" Meroko was surprised. He had never seemed to care before, let alone count.

But her voice was still icy as she replied, "No, I haven't forgotten. But what's in the past is in the past, I love Takuto now." But as she said this her voice sounded slightly hollow and she glanced over at Mitsuki. _If only he would someone besides her… _she thought.

She looked back up at Izumi. "And anyway, why are you here?" she asked suspiciously. Izumi wouldn't look her in the eye. "If you must know, the shinigami head office was a little worried. There were rumors that you had befriended a young girl, even used her powers to help her…." He looked at Mitsuki, raising his eyebrows as if to say he'd found his proof.

Meroko looked at Takuto for help. What should she say? Takuto nodded at her, he'd take care of it. "Actually Izumi, if they had really sent you down here wouldn't they have contacted me and Meroko first?"

Izumi shrugged. "Not necessarily." But his voice hid a bit of worry.

"Besides, do you have any _real _proof? It's not like Mitsuki…can see us…or anything." He was tired, and his lying ability was suffering for it. Jonathon, whose chant had been ignored up until now, was now muttering… "Llllliiiiaaarrrr….." Takuto sent him an icy glare, but it didn't have as much of an affect as Izumi's had.

Izumi looked pleased, Takuto sounded nervous. "Well, why don't we wake her up and ask her?"

"She just barely escaped death! Don't you think we could let her sleep?" Takuto insisted. Izumi walked over to the light switch. "Oh I don't know, if wouldn't hurt to wake her up for a moment, now would it?"

Meroko jumped up. "No, wait Izumi, stop!"

But it was too late. Izumi flipped the switch.

**Authors Note**: What do you think? Don't worry, Izumi will end up being like the manga one eventually!


	11. Mitsuki's Dream

Chapter 11: Mitsuki's Dream

**Authors Note**: Wow, I haven't updated in forever!!!! This next chapter is mostly a dream, and may seem a bit different in style because of that. A bit more choppy maybe?

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was written by Arina Tanemura.

* * *

The first part was a memory. Maybe then Mitsuki should've realized she was dreaming, but she was too caught up in her surroundings. This was…this was her old orphanage! Excited, she ran to a mirror. Blinking back at her was her ten year old self, pigtails and all. 

She was so happy, she thought she would cry. Because if she was back at the orphanage, that must mean…

"Mitsuki…" the sweet voice Mitsuki would never forget sounded in her ear. She turned around to see the one and only Eichi Sakura, smiling the smile she had wanted to see again for so long. Then a chill went down her spine as she remembered something- this was the day Eichi would tell her he loved her!

And now she was ready. She smiled as Eichi told her, and confidently opened her mouth to say, "I love you too…" but nothing came out! Frowning, she found she couldn't speak. Instead, she found herself running away, just like last time.

_No!! _she thought. _I can't make the same mistake again! _But her legs kept moving, and then she was somewhere, away from him, she finally stopped only when she was out of breath.

The scene changed. Mitsuki was watching Eichi leave, tears flowing. She tried to call out once, but knew it was no use. She was trapped in her own memory.

Finally, it was over. She knew she was twelve again, she could see the end of her spiral pigtails hitting her shoulder, but she wasn't awake yet. Now she was in the park, near her house.

Trying to shake away the sad memories, she hummed one of her songs quietly to herself. She walked for about five minutes, peacefully in the early dawn…when she saw…Eichi?

"Eichi, is that you?" but the words were barely out of her mouth when the figure turned around and turned out not to be Takuto, not Eichi.

"Oh, Takuto-kun!" Mitsuki exclaimed in surprise. "Where did Eichi go?" She looked past him, squinting through the early morning mist.

Takuto blinked at her, looking confused. "Eichi? Who's that?" Mitsuki laughed nervously. "Oh Takuto-kun, don't joke around like that!" She continued to search earnestly behind him.

Takuto raised his eyebrows. "Yeah…anyway Mitsuki I want to tell you something." Mitsuki stopped the search for the moment. "What is it Takuto?" She could find Eichi in a minute, right? It's not like he was going anywhere, he must be looking for her.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm always here for you, ok?" Takuto said, looking into Mitsuki's eyes with a kind glance that was unusual. Mitsuki smiled. "Thanks you! I very much appreciate it! Now, if you excuse me…" Was that all he wanted to tell her? It's not that she didn't appreciate it, but she was in a bit of a hurry…

Takuto placed a hand on her shoulder. "Where are you going?" Mitsuki pulled away. "To find Eichi of course!" she replied. "He was standing right where you were a moment ago, and I need to find him!"

"Are you feeling ok?" Takuto looked worried. Mitsuki was starting to get annoyed. "Yes, I feel fine!"

"But this Eichi person, you've never mentioned him before!" He felt her forehead, as if to check if she had a cold. Mitsuki pushed his arm away. "What are you talking about? Eichi Sakura! From when I was ten! At the orphanage! The boy…" her voice shook a little. "The boy I love."

"Oh, so he's some boy you knew back at the orphanage? Why would he matter now?" Mitsuki was freaked out now. "What are you talking about? Of course he matters! I got to find him!" Suddenly she had the strongest feeling she needed to get home.

"Wait, I have to go home!" She ran away at top speed towards her house. Why did she have the strongest feeling something was wrong? She burst through the door, not even pausing to see if Miss Tanaka or her grandmother were home.

In her room, she raced right to the familiar bookshelf that held the book with Eichi's picture. Opening it up, she expected to see him smiling up at her. But it wasn't there! Eichi's picture…wasn't there!

_I must have just misplaced it. _She told herself. She hurriedly looked through every page and shook it out. Then she searched the desk, checking everywhere…_it was gone._

She turned around and jumped in surprise, Takuto was behind her. In her desperate search, she hadn't noticed him.

"Mitsuki, are you sure you're alright?" He glanced at the desk, it's contents in disarray. "Have you lost something?"

"I lost the picture of me and Eichi!" She exclaimed. Takuto looked ever more worried. "Listen Mitsuki, what's this all of a sudden? Maybe you should lie down?"

"Maybe you're right," Mitsuki said suddenly. "I'll just go to sleep, wake up, and none of this will have happened. Eichi's picture will be safely in it's place…I did't just miss him when he was standing in front of me…"

Takuto sat near her bed as she slipped off her shoes, and as she fell gratefully unto the pillows. Suddenly, she was just…so…tired. "Thanks, Takuto…." She muttered sleepily. "For being so nice…and…" she fell asleep.

Now she woke up for real. Rubbing her eyes, half asleep, she stared out at Takuto. "Who…who turned on the lights?" she asked. Turning her head, she was surprised to see someone she didn't recognize near the light switch, with a ghost floating around his head.

"W..Wh..o's that?" her interest was the only thing that kept her awake. Takuto shook his head. "It's not important Mitsuki. Just go back to bed." "Ok…" Mitsuki nodded, closed her eyes, and immediately fell back asleep.

**Authors Note:** Well after reading the dream, do you think you know what's Mitsuki's feeling?You can guess in a review, and I'll reply telling you whether you're right or wrong :-) )


	12. Complicated Situation

Chapter 12: Complicated Situation

**Authors Note: **Finally, after almost 4 months without updating, here's another chapter:-) Thank you guys for all your support, this is my most successful story yet. I hope you like the chapter!

**Disclaimer**: I have no rights to Full Moon Wo Sagashite the manga, the anime, or the dub. The previous are owned by various companies. The manga was written by Arina Tanemura.

* * *

Mitsuki woke up to sunshine pushing on her eyes, willing her to wake up. Feeling well-rested and quite refreshed, she opened them and took a deep breath. In a moment memories of her dream hit her, and she closed them, to try to ward the memories away. She wasn't in love with Takuto was she? No, she definitely wasn't.

_Where is Takuto anyway? _Mitsuki wondered. She stood up and stretched; relieved to no longer fell any throbbing pain in her head. Neither of the shinigami were in sight. Maybe it was for the best; Mitsuki wasn't sure how she could to Takuto right now anyway.

Stepping in front of the mirror, she was glad to see that she looked fine, expect for maybe a tad pale. Her brown hair was perfectly in place…._Wait…brown hair?? _No wonder she felt so much better! She had turned back in Mitsuki!!

She closed her eyes, insisting to herself when she opened them she'd be Full Moon again. But nope…she had definitely changed back "How did this happen? Why did this happen?" She asked desperately to her reflection.

This was bad. No worse then bad. Horrible. Full Moon didn't have any permission to leave, and now a strange girl was in her room? Not to mention Takuto and Meroko had somehow disappeared. She leaned against the wall, depressed. Her secret…she had preserved it so well…

"Having trouble?" Mitsuki flipped around. It was…it was that person from last night! In the light of day she could see him better. He leaned against the wall, his arms folded. He had blonde hair, which was covered in…a dog ear hat? It looked rather odd. The ghost was there too, floating around in an un-ending circle.

"Who are you?" She asked nervously. She had enough problems, she didn't need any more.

"My name is Izumi Rio, shinigami." _That wasn't too surprising, _Mitsuki thought. The odd hat had made it fairly obvious not to mention she could see wings peaking up behind his shirt. "This is my partner, Jonathon." Izumi's voice seemed to carry very dry emotion, as if life held only vague interest, as if he wasn't really giving any effort.

"What do you want with me?" Mitsuki demanded. She didn't have time for this. Any second now someone would surely come in and check on her…She pushed away panic.

Izumi ignored the question. "You're fated to die in a year, correct?"

"W…Why does that matter?"

"Because in case you hadn't noticed, your time is slowly slinking away from you."

Jonathon started circling the other way.

"What are you talking about? I still have lots of time, I mean, don't I?"

Izumi shrugged. "Maybe. But what can you really get accomplished? Besides, you secret is about to get blown. Why not just end it now? Just say the word…."

"NO!" Mitsuki yelled. "Unlike you, I'm not just going to give up on life!"

"Too bad. I'm not taking no for a answer." Izumi grabbed Mitsuki's wrists. She screamed. "Let go! Let go!" She tried to kick him away, but it didn't work.

There was knock on the door. Izumi froze, though he didn't loosen his grip.

_This might be my only chance… People discovering me is better then where I am right now. I'm not ready to leave this world just yet…_ Mitsuki thought.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Mitsuki kicked Izumi hard and broke free of his grasp. Then as loudly and as she could she yelled, "Actually, I'm having a problem. Do you think you could help me?"

There was a pause. Would the nurse buy it? She probably sounded different as Mitsuki…

"Ok, let me find they key and I'll be in there a minute, alright Full Moon-sama?"

Meanwhile, Izumi had recovered and was heading after Mitsuki again, trying to corner her. But Mitsuki was faster, jumping up onto the bed and heading across the room in different directions, trying to confuse him.

But she couldn't hold this up very long, she was Mitsuki now and her throat was burning, her breath coming out so fast she was surprised she was breathing at all. The nurse was still fumbling for the key outside.

_Just hold on a little longer…_Mitsuki told herself. She was relieved the room was so large or the plan wouldn't have worked at all. _Just…keep…_that was it, she couldn't keep it up any longer. Collapsing, she leaned against a wall, clutching it to keep herself up.

Izumi laughed. "I wasn't really trying you know. You were just wasting your time. I thought you said you weren't ready to give up on life? By running away, you're just hurting yourself." He pinned her to the wall, but she had no way to fight back, she was too weak. She just kept wheezing, trying to regain her breath.

The door clicked. Yes, it was about to be open!

In the next few seconds, so many events happened simultaneously that if you blinked you would surely miss them. First, the door opened and the nurse saw Mitsuki, and looked very confused. The next moment, Mitsuki screamed again and Takuto burst through the wall, taking Izumi by surprise, punching him and sending him down the ground. Finally, Meroko came and knocked the memory out of the nurse.

In shock, Mitsuki clutched the wall again as her breathing began to return to normal. "I...thought…you…guys…had…forgotten…about….me!" Mitsuki exclaimed, taking long breaths in-between each word.

Meroko and Takuto exchanged a look, a look that held something Mitsuki didn't understand. A secret was there. Meroko shook her head. "We had…to do something. But we would never let something happened to you. You know that." Takuto seemed to be blushing slightly as he agreed, muttering, "yeah."

Mitsuki smiled, and nodded in a relieved sort of way. "I know."

Izumi stood up, a fiery emotion in his eyes. "Don't interfere with FATE! I'm sure the boss would LOVE to hear about what you're doing here."

Takuto rounded on him, all since of embarrassment gone. "Fine! Go! I don't CARE!"

Scowling, Izumi turned around and stalked off. Jonathon followed, taunting them as he left. "You're in trouble now…."

Mitsuki was so touched she wanted to cry. "Thank you so much!" she said, running forward and hugging Takuto. All worries of the dream had faded.

Takuto blushed even harder then the last time Mitsuki had hugged him. He didn't push her away, didn't hug back, didn't do anything, just stood here.

Mitsuki broke free of his embrace. She was blushing a little herself. Had she overdone it? But Takuto still wasn't saying anything. "Takuto?" she asked nervously.

"I…I better turn you back in Full Moon before the nurse wakes up." He sounded nervous too, but he wouldn't have admitted it for the world.

"R..right."

Takuto snapped his fingers, and she changed. As Full Moon, Mitsuki had a slight headache from all that had went on, but the panging in her throat was nonexistent, and she was relieved for that.

She leaned over the nurse and tapped her on the shoulder. "Is she going to be ok?" she asked Meroko, who hadn't said anything for awhile. Meroko nodded "Yeah, she's just knocked out…she should wake up any-"

"H..hello?" The nurse stood up and clutched her forehead. "What happened?" Mitsuki looked at Takuto, mouthing "_What should I say_?"

When he shrugged, she turned to the nurse again, and in the most believable voice she could muster said, "Well, I'm not sure, you came in here and…just…fainted!"

The story was stupid, but hey, what else could she think of in like 5 seconds? Takuto shook his head wildly at Mitsuki mouthing _"NO…THAT WAS STUPID…"_

Somehow though, the nurse believed her. "Whoa…weird. Anyway, Full Moon, I'm supposed to let you know that you can go home now."

"Thanks you." Mitsuki signed the checklist, confirming she was leaving. The lady left, still a little shaken but otherwise alright. She warned Mitsuki that there was a lot of press outside.

Mitsuki closed her eyes for a moment, trying to process everything that had just happened.

Takuto floated over to her. "Are…are you alright Mitsuki?"

Mitsuki smiled. "Yes, I'm fine. Let's just….go home, alright?"

"Ok."

**Authors Note: **What did you think? Be sure to leave a review and let me know. The next chapter will (hopefully) be a little kind of Christmas-in-July thing! Well…you'll see. :-) I'll try to get to when I can, I have other things to write too. I promise it will here by Christmas though.


	13. An Unknown Date

**Chapter 13: An Unknown Date**

**Authors Notes: I am soooooooooooooooooooo sorry about not updating! I feel really bad. I wonder if anyone even cares about this fanfiction anymore..if you do here's a new chapter, and once again, I am soo sorry.**

"So…that was my dream."

Mitsuki tried to gauge Meroko's reaction, she felt kind of guilty coming to her with it, but Meroko had always claimed to be an expert in these kind of things, and Mitsuki desperately wanted to know what her dream meant. She hadn't stopped thinking about it since she had got home, and parts of it sometimes still replayed in her current dreams.

For a second Meroko flinched, but it was gone so fast you would blink and miss it. The next second she was back to grinning. "I know exactly what to do."

Mitsuki breathed a sigh of relief. She _knew_ Meroko would have the answer. "What?"

"A date," she answered, nodding.

Mitsuki blinked. "What?"

"A date. If you and Takuto go on date, you can find out if you really have feelings for him or not. Simple." Meroko nodded, as if anyone should know this. Mitsuki did not.

Mitsuki started blushing. A date? She had never gone a date before, a real one. I mean, she had planned to someday of course, with Eichi…but…would it be alright to go on one with Takuto, just to be sure? She wished she could ask him…but it was important that she could be one hundred percent dedicated to Eichi. Yes, she decided in the end, this could be good.

"It's an awesome idea right?" Meroko was clapping, obviously proud of herself.

"But will Takuto really agree? I mean…what if he thinks it's stupid? He doesn't even like me."

Meroko didn't look at Mitsuki when she answered, instead choosing a nice spot on the wall. "Oh, don't worry about that. But anyway, he's not going to know it's a date."

"He won't? But…"

"All that matters is YOUR feelings, right?" Meroko asked. "You're doing this to find out how YOU feel, not how he feels. So he doesn't need to know."

That was true. It hadn't even crossed Mitsuki's mind how Takuto might feel, I mean he did seem to care about her in some capacity; he had blushed a lot…but…that didn't mean anything did it? She felt like she was getting a headache, it was all so confusing.

"Okay, but-"

"I'll handle it," Meroko cut her off again. "You just choose something cute to wear, and be ready to follow my lead. Alright?"

"Alright…and Meroko?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"Thank you for what?" Takuto floated into the room.

Mitsuki jumped so much she almost knocked over the table, but somehow Meroko managed to stay calm. Maybe she was so used to scheming it was second nature? What bothered Mitsuki wasn't that she hadn't just felt nervous about Takuto walking in on their conversation, but because she had felt…something…when he walked in the room.

"For telling her about this festival!" Meroko responded brightly. She then produced some brochure Mitsuki had never seen in her life and held it up. "It's tomorrow, and it's going to be A-M-A-Z-I-N-G."

Mitsuki adjusted her face to match Meroko's, remembering she was supposed to be following in her lead. "Yeah, I don't have any work tomorrow, so I figured we could go! It has, um- Meroko, why don't you tell him what it has?"

"Oh you know, normal festival stuff, but it's supposed to be the best one of the year, size wise."

Mitsuki nodded, as if she knew all of this already. "So…um…Takuto…doyouthinkyouwouldcome?" The words came out a little faster then she intended, but she though she got the point across. She looked at Takuto, blinking nervously.

There was an awkward pause. Takuto looked at Mitsuki, then at Meroko, then back at Mitsuki again. Finally, he shrugged. "Sure, why not? Why you acting so nervous, we hang out at stuff like this all the time. We've even been to a festival before (reference to an episode whose number I don't remember, lol)."

Mitsuki blushed. "Yeah I know, but…" She did wonder for a second, if Meroko was going to be there, how this was going to be a date. But she was sure she had it handled, and obviously couldn't say anything in front of Takuto anyway.

"Anyway, Takuto, I need to um, talk to Mitsuki about something privately. Girl stuff. So you think you could leave?"

"Whatever."

And with that, Takuto left.

"So here's the plan," Meroko said seriously. "We'll get there, and in a few minutes I'm going to "disappear". So don't freak. _Your _job is to convince Takuto not to look for me."

"G..g..got it," Mitsuki stuttered.

She then continued to give Mitsuki a spew of romantic advice, such as things to say, ways to look cute, etc." Mitsuki tried to listen, and although she did take some stuff in, she couldn't help but let her mind wander. Eichi's picture sat her on desk, and as she looked at it a wave of guilt washed over her. Was this really the right thing to do?

* * * * * * * **** * * * * * *

Mitsuki walked side-by-side with Meroko and Takuto, who were both in human form in order to follow enjoy the festival. And she had to admit, it was nice. They had already had seen lots of adorable stands; Mitsuki had bought a small cat and bunny statue that reminded her of the shinigami, and Meroko had bought some kind of head band she seemed really excited over. Takuto of course, had bought nothing.

Mitsuki had almost forgot the plan, laughing and looking at everything around her, when Meroko said, "Hey, I'm going to go look at that stand we passed awhile back."

"What, why?" Takuto asked.

"It's a secret." Meroko held up her finger, as if she was shushing something, then left.

Takuto sighed. "Well then, I guess it's just you and me."

Now Mitsuki was REALLY nervous. "Yeah…um…" She tried to remember what Meroko had told her. Oh right. She blinked her eyelashes, and tried to push out her lips to make them look bigger. "All…alone…" She sadly failed at looking sexy.

Takuto raised his eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

Mitsuki started laughing hysterically. "I am TOTALLY okay. Like, double okay, like…"

"Right. Want to get something to eat?"

Mitsuki nodded. She wished Meroko was here, she wasn't any good at this.

"Do you think we should look for Meroko?" asked Takuto. "She's been gone for awhile."

"We can, um, once we finish eating," Mitsuki stuttered, stalling.

"Okay."

They got some delicious looking rice balls stuffed with all sorts of stuff Mitsuki wasn't familiar with and then sat done at a table. Here, Mitsuki tried to implement another one of Meroko's tips, touch. In about every romance book/movie, so Meroko said, there was a scene where the couple of the story bumped into each other, whether it be their knees under a table or a collision in a hallway.

So, after they had been eating for a few minutes, Mitsuki tried to casually knock her knee against Takuto's. Unfortunately, she was no nervous, she was shaking, and the light knocking she had been planning turned more into a downright shove.

Takuto dropped his rice ball and winced. "What the-?"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Mitsuki apologized, blushing bright red. This was REALLY not going well.

"Why'd you do that?" He asked, looking annoyed.

"Um…"

"I can tell there's something bothering you Mitsuki," Takuto said seriously. He put his hand on Mitsuki's, and looked her in the eye.

Suddenly her heart started beating a mile a minute…had Takuto's eyes always looked like that? And the feeling of his hand on hers, it felt…nice. Plus, he seemed to care about her so much. I mean, she had known that, but…

Takuto started blushing and removed his hand. "Sorry."

"It's okay.."

There was an awkward silence. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, some random girl squealed. "Oh your guys are so cute! How long have you been dating?"

"We're not dating," Mitsuki and Takuto immediately said at the same time.

The girl, who was probably 13, had extremely bright pink hair that reminded Mitsuki of Meroko. Only, this girl had much shorter hair and was wearing a shirt for some band that Mitsuki had never heard of her. Also, Takuto would have recognized if she was Meroko.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Right? Let me guess, you're too 'embarrassed' to admit your feelings to each other? Wimps."

Takuto was getting pissed off. "You have no right to talk to us like that, you don't even know us."

The girl shrugged. "Whatever, I just call them like I see them, that's all. If you were a real man, you would go ahead and kiss her already or something."

Mitsuki started blushing an insane color of red- kiss Takuto? Also, she was worried because he was starting to look REALLY pissed. She didn't want him to do anything stupid."

"It's complicated," Takuto said icily. "And also none of your business."

"Complicated?" Pink girl scoffed. "Let me guess, you don't want to 'ruin the friendship'…or…one of you is still 'in love with someone' they haven't even seen in forever."

Mitsuki blushed hardy, and seriously wished the girl would go away.

"Like I said, _NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS," _Takuto growled, looking like he was about ready to explode. "Now I suggest you go away before I do something that I regret."

The girl grinned. "Whoa, no reason to get so defensive. Fine, I'll go. You have fun being a COWARD."

That was obviously the last straw for Takuto. "COWARD? Your calling me a _coward? _I'll show you how much of a _coward _I am." And then he grabbed Mitsuki and kissed her.

Mitsuki's first thought was to pull away- after all how could she kiss someone that wasn't Eichi? But- she didn't. She didn't want to. In that moment, everything around her faded. She wasn't thinking about the girl with pink hair, the fact that it was probably about to rain and they should be going, where Meroko was…no all she was thinking about was that moment, and how…how wonderful it was. And then, she started kissing back. She had never kissed anyone before, but somehow it just made sense in that moment, a beautiful moment…and then it was over.

For a moment, they just sat there looking at each other. The pink haired girl was gone (not like it mattered), and Mitsuki vaguely heard some guy whistle and someone else clap. If she had been Full Moon this would have caused so much stir…but this thought only barely crossed her mind. All she could think about was that Takuto had KISSED her.

This must mean…he liked her. He was obviously very defensive with the girl, and he…well he had kissed her. If that wasn't shocking enough, she had LIKED the kiss. She had really liked it. Was this what Meroko had talked about, being sure of her feelings? Was this her answer? In a flash, her mind played out to all the times Takuto had been there for her, cared about her, even if he hadn't always shown it so plainly, it was all obvious now. And it was obvious how much she had depended on it.

Suddenly, she started crying. The tears just flowed one after another, down her face.

"What's wrong?" Takuto asked, taking her hand again. "Should I not have done that? I'm sorry Mitsuki…"

Mitsuki sniffed loudly, but the tears were still coming. "Takuto…I…think…I'm…in…l-l-love…with…y-y-you."

**Authors Note: **Well if you're still interested in this story, there's still more to come! I still have a little bit of plot left in me. Lol. Once again, sooo sorry about not updating. If people want me to update, I will be much faster next time, promise!


	14. The Aftermath

**Chapter 14: The Aftermath**

**Authors Note: I was touched to see I got reviews and PMs actually asking me to finish this fanfiction! So I decided I'll finish it up in a few chapters or so. It's a little angsty right now, but hold out I promise it will get better. Thanks for caring so much and I hope you like the chapter! I love feedback!**

**If you're wondering what I'm mostly working on these days here's a link right here: .com/s/2656925/1/All_My_Emotion I would love to have your guy's support on my orginal story as well.**

**Enjou!**

"What."

It was as if Takuto was so shocked that he couldn't even muster a surprised tone to execute the question- it was only a statement.

Mitsuki, who was at this point crying hysterically, couldn't even look at him. "J-j-ust f-forget I-I s-said anything," She mumbled. What would Eichi think? What would Eichi think? Oh Eichi would hate her, she could never look at him again, the guilt was just too much….

"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself for this," he murmured, as if he could read her thoughts. He placed his hand on hers again, and then seeming to realize his mistake, pulled it away quickly as if it burned him.

"Because i-it _i-is_ my fault," Mitsuki said, sniffing while trying to regain a bit more control.

"But_ I_ kissed _you," _he insisted.

"Yes but _I_ liked it Takuto! I liked it a lot….oh, Eichi will never forgive me!"

Just as eyes had brightened when she said "I liked it" they quickly grew dark when she mentioned Eichi's name. He was always touchy when she brought him up of course, but it seemed to be intensified in that moment….or maybe she was just noticing more then she usually did?

"You don't need him, Mitsuki. You could do better, no _way _better than him. He never came back for you, to find you, despite the fact you've been waiting and searching for so long…." Takuto said, his voice seeming to drip with accusation.

"No, he just doesn't know yet, he'll come, I'm sure he'll come, I mean….right?" Mitsuki was shocked that she had to question it, she had never questioned it before.

"You're perfect faith in people is so…" Takuto responded, shaking his head. "Insane." He smiled. "But it's part of the reason, I….I thinkIloveyoutoo." The last part of the sentence was a vague blur, but Mitsuki caught the meaning.

Someone clapped, and suddenly Mitsuki just wanted to be away from people. They all seemed to think this was some perfect moment, some reason to be overjoyed, when it wasn't like that at all. All she felt was confusion, and quilt, and slight desire to throw up. Wiping her eyes, she stood up. "Can we go home now?"

Takuto took a second to answer. "If that's what you want."

His whole…demeanor…was different now. He had never talked to Mitsuki this way before, as if he thought carefully about every word….with a pang she realized it resembled the way Eichi used to. The kiss seemed to have changed everything between them.

"We…we should probably find Meroko before we leave," she said quietly. "I don't want to even think about what she would do if we left without her."

Takuto attempted to grin, although it turned out as more of a lopsided smile. "She'd probably go senile, and we'd never hear the end of it."

"Yeah…."

* * *

Meroko was in fact, flying high above them at that exact moment. She wondered if they had known the girl was her. They seemed to have bought it though, kissing in front of her and all. She hoped they would've had the decency to not do it if they knew it was her….it hurt, watching it, but only for a second. She loved Takuto, but she also loved Mitsuki. And Mitsuki, whether she was totally ready to come to terms with it yet, felt something for Takuto.

But even if she was okay with it, she was not quite ready to join them, smile, and act like nothing happened. She just needed a few more minutes….

"Meroko…."

She jumped and whipped her head around. "Oh, it's you Izumi. I'm really not in the mood okay? Just leave me alone."

Jonathon began circling her head, but she batted him away. Maybe it was time to go join Mitsuki and Takuto again. Truth be told she was a little afraid to be around Izumi by herself.

"What's troubling you?" He asked in a caring voice that was _obviously_ fake.

"Nothing that concerns you. Can I go please?" She started flying towards the ground.

"Tell me and I'll leave you alone."

Meroko sighed. "Mitsuki and Takuto were kissing, and I was there but they didn't know I was. It hurt a little, but I'm FINE, it's what I wanted to happen."

"You wanted it to happen?" he sounded skeptical.

_Of course he would respond that way, _Meroko thought bitterly. _Not like he's ever done something for someone other than himself._

"I didn't WANT it to happen for _me, _I wanted it for…for…them." Saying 'them' made them sound very couple-ly, Meroko realized sadly, but perhaps she should just get used to it now.

"You don't deserve that," Izumi muttered.

To say she was taken aback would be an understatement. "Excuse me?"

"I said, you don't deserve that Meroko." Izumi's voice sounded almost…sympathetic. If such a thing were actually possibly that is. Even Jonathon stopped his circling, as if surprised as well.

"And why do you care?" Meroko regained composure as quickly as she had lost it. He had a plot, had a plan, obviously.

Izumi sighed. "I'm not totally evil you know, Me-chan," his voice was back to condescending and dry as usual, even though his eyes still looked different. "At least you didn't seem to think so back in those when you confessed your love to me so many times."

Meroko blushed angrily. "I love Takuto now, and that's final."

"Even if he loves Mitsuki?"

"Even if I have to sit front-row at their wedding. There is no one but him." There was finality in her voice that surprised her.

"I won't let them get away with treating you like this," Izumi sputtered, his voice suddenly angry. He leaned over, kissed Meroko, then fly off.

Meroko's heart was pounding wildly and suddenly the air felt very still. "WHAT? Why did you do that? Where are you doing? Please don't do anything, this is what I want remember! Please…?" But Izumi was so far off he probably couldn't even hear her, all she could see was the back of Jonathon, hovering behind him.

The sun was beginning to set…she better find them, and before Izumi did….she tried to tell herself that maybe he wouldn't do anything, he was just messing around, but she knew him more that that. Why, oh why, was he acting like he cared now? She had waited for him so long, just like she had waited for Takuto…what, if Mitsuki went with Eichi, was he going to return her feelings a few years from now too?

It was if people just thought they could love her when it was "convenient for them". It didn't work like that. She was not a toy. She brushed her lips and thought of how much she wanted those be Takuto's. No, Takuto was not like Izumi. He loved Mitsuki, and even if he did like her one day, he would never use her. He would never hurt her like that. She knew that. It just seemed to be easier to blame him.

She smiled. She had let herself fall into the pity for a moment….but there were more important problems…like finding him and Mitsuki!

She flew around for awhile and was about to try Mitsuki's cell when she saw them sitting on a bench. Yes! Relief flooded over her until she saw….Izumi was already there.

"No, no, no…" she muttered. Maybe she could still do damage control…..

"…no right to walk in here and act like you know ANYTHING about what you're talking about," Takuto was growling

"No, I think I do. And if you think you can play with people's hearts maybe it's time I drop the little announcement I've been keeping under wraps for awhile. He reached something out of his pocket and showed it to Takuto, the look on his face pure wickedness.

"This is a lie," Takuto said immediately. "I would've known, Meroko would've known…"

"Not if someone didn't want you to," Izumi responded evenly. "No, it wasn't me, honestly I just found out myself….but you could see the signature of our superiors, I told them maybe Mitsuki would need a push in the right direction, since you seem so keen on prolonging our life…."

Takuto raised his fast to punch Izumi, but Meroko and Mitsuki both grabbed him.

"What's going on?" they asked at the same time, although Meroko's tone was more accusatory and Mitsuki's more scared. Takuto paled and put his head in his hands. "Eichi…Eichi's dead."


End file.
